It was fun...because I suppose everyone had this apprehension of whether a mistake was going to be made.

But there was a certain party atmosphere sebab tak kisahlah risau mana pun - we knew this had to be it!

Mawi, Felix, Yazer & Kefli - Lagu bonus - Medley Ghazal Untuk Rabiah (Jamal Abdillah dan Nasir), Apokalips (M.Nasir), dan Ekspres Rakyat (Kembara)Apa nak katakan ek. It was decent. I have no idea why it was called a tribute. Too self-indulgent for me. Nothing great about the boys' medley...kira biasa-biasa saja. Kefli looked and sounded really out of place in this one.

Yazer - This Love (Maroon 5)I have a feeling that Yazer didn't have a clue what the song was about, and how to go about performing it. Kelakar to see him gyrating away...they might as well as given him a real dance tune cause he didn't seem to get into the funk of things.

And what the hell was he wearing? It seems that somehow he was wearing a sweatshirt inspired top ala karung guni that made him look heavier walaupun Aznil kata dia lost weight. He didn't have a sense of coordination in his little dance routine and vocally was so out of breath - he might as well be shagging jer. Terbayang lak ngan bunyian dia so out of breath, images from Putrajaya masa peluh meleleh tak henti-henti. And his diction was horrid, and I was straining to see if he forgot any of the words to the tune. Thank God it was finally bye-bye Yazer!

Still - Felix managed to hold on to his spotlight walaupun lagu tu simple and easy listening.And yes, I think he had the right expression for the song throughout. Simply captivating! Makes up for the past few weeks of horror from Felix.

Bukan sahaja lupa lirik - dahlah bukan sekali. Ni lari tempo...pitching...key...tc. Everything was just so wrong. And the sengau was stilll as irritating as ever!

The joke is - it's only lagu Adam. Takder ler challenging mana pun! Aku rasa masa lagu ini dipilih dulu, they were trying to get something easy for him. Well, apparently mereka tak sedar easy is not in Kefli's vocab. After all - he still has trouble trying to figure out how to breathe and sing at the same time! And the trying to walk like Mawi thing was hardly cute! It was him being insistently irritating as usual...

Amylea - Gemilang (Jaclyn Victor) So I would be the first to admit Amylea's version tak se power Jac's. But WOW! She made it hers! Lagu tu jadi lain sangat ngan improvisation dia yang just nice, tak overboard.

She lost some steam mid-way due to the limitations of her voice, cracking a little here and there, but like Marsha, picked up and rocked the house!

Standing ovation dari kita!

Puas juga seeing a real performer like her, announced the qualifier over si sengau Kefli tu. I mean really! In a world that had any values of fairness, she wouldn't have been in contention against someone like him in the first place!

The best thing is - kalau empat orang pelajar lelaki kena layan tiga lagu bonus, the two girls took on four songs! You have to respect that! Plus they did it their way. Again, a little few hiccups here and there - but deserving of another standing ovation!

Whatever it is - Menuju Puncak has been taken to new heights of silliness!

By the way, the final tribute with semua yang tersingkir was touching - only sadly it was for AFVOKAL more than anything else.

Kalau nak sangat wat AFVOKAL, bagik laa memasing kuar lagu sendiri ke pa. Ni tak. How you suppose to judge them individually from a group song. You're talking about everyone singing on a different key and all.

Plus, everyone has their set piece for a solo, so there's bound to be seorang dua yang lebih kan?

Whatever it is - consolation prize or not - AFVOKAL (which is Anugerah Vokal Popular - sebab diundi dan bukan Anugerah Vokal Terbaik seperti didakwa Astro) should go to only among Idayu, Fuad, Amylea, Amy, Marsha or even Aidil (seriously?). Why do I say that? Well - from their unique vocal tone - to their much polished appearance now since their introduction, I think these few yang menyerlah overall.

Yes, even Aidil didn't sound as bad as he did when in Akademi ketika mempersembahkan Didn't We Almost Have It All in the group performance. Elliza was the most horrible, screeching like pontianak mengilai kena buasir (boleh ke?)

Anyway, back to the show...

And the result?

Apa lagi? The four best performers, who have been consistently delivering for weeks now! Thank God Malaysia got it right! Teringat musim lepas masa Bob diumumkan masuk and aku terpikir how the SMS votes were right for the first time the whole season!

And this time - Malaysia got it right. Mungkin aku masih tak setuju peratusan antara empat pelajar tu jauh sangat, but still - they are in the final!

I was told by friends that there is a possibility that dia sentimen mungkin digunakan sesetengah pihak dalam kempen tuk AFUNDI masuk final ni.

And they are the two most sensitive things that anyone could harp on. So I hope we all can pull together and vote for who we believe is talented - and not bother with these two issues which some extreme fans mugnkin menggunakan.

Sentimen pertama of course mengenai dua pelajar dari Borneo and dua pelajar dari Semenanjung. I say, so what? We're all still Malaysians kan? Biar kita banggawith the best we have to offer without caring which state or side of the country we're from!

The second is a more sensitive issue. Sudah pasti Mawi dan Amylea beragama Islam while Felix dan marsha are Christians. Again, aku merayu semua dalam keghairahan mengundi pelajar tersayang, supaya jauhi diri dari sentimen sebegini. We are voting for talent - and that's all that counts. Kita masyarakat muhibbah - and there is no difference between us all - race, religion, creed or any other distinguishing factors. Remember...blur the lines that seperate us, and only allow talent to shine through!

After all - pelajar-pelajar Akademi Fantasia telah membuktikan kami lah a community which prides itself ont he unity our nation is so proud of -maybe we could learn something from them!

Ok laa...letih siot...from the excitement and anticipation (and I suppose the subsequent partying) but thank you to everyone who voted for the girls to make sure they got into the final!

By the way - I usually post only quality poetry, but this time I want to share something so silly, but with the sentiments in the right place. It's for whoever it's supposed to be for....It's from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You and it's the part Julia Stiles is voicing how much she hates this guy, tapi sebenarnya da jatuh hati...A little juvenile...but gets the point across. That's all for this posting...nothing more to share...I'm empty inside...

10 Things I Hate About YouI hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme. I hate the way you are always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh. Even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly, I hate the way I don't hate you, Not even close, Not even a little bit, Not even at all

I say : Why call it Anugerah Vokal Terbaik kalau bukan judged by professionals. If its based on public votes - then its Anugerah Vokal Popular. The masses cannot be expected to deliver a result that is equivalent to that of people knowledgeable in the business. The best tu kena laa orang yang paham apa tu vocals and techniques involved mah!

Monday, July 25, 2005

Aku tak pernah pilih Akma dalam senarai peribadi aku untuk dia ke final. But still - at this point of the competition - for all her weaknesses, dia BUKAN pelajar paling lemah, dia bukan pelajar paling tidak consistent, and she sure as hell is not the least talented when it comes to vocals.

Cuma masaalahnya, she is female, not some cutesy, boyband wannabe who would be better off miming after some dance lessons.

Of course - a major part of my appeal goes to Mawi and Felix fans tuk sokong Marsha dan Amylea. Kalau ada yang katakan ini tak rasional, then think if it this way. Don't you want credibility if and when the student of your choice menang?

Setakat kalau Mawi dan Felix menang 'walkover' sebab the competition is weak and not at all credible, especially in the likes of Kefli - tak berbaloi wang Ringgit tuk AFUNDI. Baik dok terus takyah undi dari sekarang. IF Mawi and Felix wins against tougher and more creidble competition like Marsha and Amylea - THAT'S putting up a fight and a deserved win!

Apapun. I think I, serta ramai bloggers lain telahpun made our stand known. One common ground we can all agree on is that we want Kefli OUT! So let's see to it that that whining cringer is booted out before the finals!

I hope we can pull of what we did with Akademi Fantasia II when in the last week - all the fan clubs managed to supporteach other in terms of votes to kick out yang TAK PATUT berada di final. Here's to seeing a repeat of that moment.

Yang sakit ati nya - when they showed the results, I was glad Mawi improved his standing because he did perform quite well for the night, tapi sakit ati tengok Felix jatuh dari segi peratusan and kecewa because Amylea naik pun tak seberapa.

But the horror of all horrors was Marsha jatuh sampai ke second last! Apa barang??!!

Are you joking?

Si Kefli memang aku admit improved his performance - but considering standard dia ketinggalan sebegitu jauh - it was hardly anything significant compared to that of the others. Paling tidak pun, kalau nyamuk sengau tu terselamat - Yazer would have been the next target based on common sense because dia punya take of Mengapa Harus Cinta was a simply painful.

Lost my mood to update the blog for the night - tried to update the radio.blog tapi sebab ada change pada security features by Gengkita, I couldn't access the ftp.

As far as the radio.blog is concerned, hopefully things will rectified as soon as possible. But back to the night - yes it was crap!

Memang Malaysians (the masses anyway) are hardly smart enough to evaluate what is quality.

As a result? Twelve months from now - pilihan meka tu akan get flushed down the toilet of failures of the local entertainment industry!

Just look at season one, how many actually made it? How about season two? Yang kecoh-kecoh dok terselamat atas undi simpati - mana dia skang? Seriously!

First of all - I think any sort of study would prove that majority of Akademi Fantasia voters are female, thus the dominance of boys in the competition. Kalau dalam pertandingan lain dalam Malaysia ni - boys selalu lose out to girls, Akademi Fantasia is the only competition girls never stand a chance.

So there are two girls left in the competition - no complaints here as they are the outstanding two. But the boys? Only Felix and Mawi are worthy of the final as far as I am concerned.

These four have been consistently been performing above average, and have displayed an amazing ability to adapt and embrace versatility.

Dahlah...kepada nyamuk-nyamuk penyokong Kefli dan Yazer...I cou;dn't care less what you have to say. At the end of the day - these two will go the way of students in Akademi Fantasia previously yang bertahan all the way to the final for no bloody reason cause they will never have a career in the local music industry and will fizzle out to being small time dependants of their status on Akademi Fantasia.

Why am I so angry? Because ada mereka yang mempunyai bukan sahaja impian - tapi juga bakat semulajadi yang patut diberikan perhatian. Akademi Fantasia is an enviable platform for any new act - so why waste it on those yang takder future in this business??

Suka ati ler korang....you make the final what it is.

All I know is, I'm doing my duty to vote for only FOUR students, who to me deserve the spots in the final not only for their ambition, effort, talent but also their potential to go far. And the four, who were the best performers from the previous week - are also my favourites for this week.

Look at the photos of the deserved top four bebetul. Kali ni aku pilih pics yang gambarkan usaha mereka, kerisauan mereka, tekanan mereka, dan harapan mereka because these are four extremely talented kids you will letting down if any of them don't make the final.

The competition looks hopeless at this point - with voters who have any sense (and sense of hearing) being way outnumbered by those who vote by sentiment and sympathy.

Dah...apapun - I am sick and tired of this trend of orang yang tak paham apa konsep asal Akademi Fantasia - which is a TV opportunity to offer those with promise to further enhance their abilities and talents to shine.

On to my review. By the way - sorry tapi I didn't include the evaluation of the two groups songs sebab Ladki Badi Anjani Hai and Seri Langkat were not worthy of evaluation for me.

Interesting and mildly amusing as it was - aku tak nampak the relevance of group performances except tuk buang masa sebab this year - the group songs do not test individual contribution to the team effort.

As for Seri Langkat - the Jamal Abdillah and Amelina version - it just didn't do much for me...Menuju Puncak for me is the only group number I'd be bothered to evaluate this year - tapi since choreography cam dibuat oleh my taekwondo master...takyah ler.

On to the show...

Marsha - Cobalah Untuk Setia (Kris Dayanti)I have to say mula-mula aku risau gak sebab Marsha seemed to be out of tempo. For some reason dia tak keep up to pace...possibly tak feel lagu tu as well as I thought she would.

Which brought about the problem of penghayatan, which like Yasmin Ahmad said, she seemed to lack a connection to the song and was unable to deliver the message. However, vocally - I'd have to agree with Syafinaz and she pulled out all the stops. She is definitely THE voice of Akademi Fantasia III.

Not stealing any thunder away from Amylea - as Amylea is THE voice with a personality.

Kefli - Hati Emas (Kembara) Admittedly a fun song. Tapi because of the strength of the original composition...in no part due to Kefli's effort.

To put it simply - Syafinaz seemed to round it up best (let's forget Kudsia Kahar as usual) when she also pointed out a couple of faults in my list. My list includes the horrid manner of slurring, his intonation (or lack of it), the consistencies in going off pitch and the needless screaming. At this point, people...please note...there is a difference between dynamis and volume - something which I said Kefli has not been able to distinguish in weeks he's been in the Akademi. And for

God's sake boy! Breathe when you sing! Muka seksa tak abih-abih. By the way - I think Aznil stole the show from him without even needing vocal lessons or weeks in the Akademi (leh tak AFUNDI Aznil ganti tempat dia?)

Yazer - Mengapa Harus Cinta (Vince)I did say before this it would be Yazer's first test - sebab yang pelajar lain semua da diuji all over the place and he's the only one that seems to be dimanjakan.

I also did say that kalau dia perform bagus - he would make it to my list sebab he has been proving he has all the elements the top four have - cuma only because he has NEVER been tested.

So how did he do? Not as bad as I thought - despite the flat, flat, flat delivery of the song throughout. Off key siot berapa kali....karam abih! Off the topic of Yazer - beginning from him we can see the wardrobe department da mula buat sial balik. Ingat stylo ka nyanyi lagu ballad tetap nak imej rock? What's with the the ripped jeans??? Tak kena konsep...Setakat menang tuk Vaanavil leh laa...(siapa yang makan cili dia yang terasa pedas...)

And despite wardrobe department bangap buat dia imej cam tukang cat rumah yang diupah...he did great! At several points, aku rasa his performance was a little contrived....but he pulled through well enough and made the song his own. I would say for the first time bebetul, aku puas ati ngan Mawi nya performance - a feeling I usually get from Amylea dan Marsha.

KUALA LUMPUR : The long-standing and highly publicised dispute between local singer Dayang Nurfaizah Awang Dowty and her former management and recording label has been amicably resolved.

In a joint press release issued on Thursday, Recording Industry of Malaysia (RIM) general manager Ramani Ramalingam said he was pleased to announce a mutually beneficial settlement between the relevant parties.

"The settlement resolves a series of unfortunate miscommunications dating back to 2002.

"Dayang has successfully come to an agreement with Bintang Seni Sdn Bhd over her management contract while New Southern Records Sdn Bhd (NSR) has bought over Dayang's recording contract from Aneka Seni Music Productions Sdn Bhd.

This means that all legal suits between Dayang and the Broadway Entertainment Group of Companies, which includes Aneka Seni, Bintang Seni, Lindung Seni and Broadway Entertainment Sdn Bhd have been amicably settled.

"Dayang is now free of all her contractual obligations with the Broadway Entertainment group of companies and to fully pursue her promising recording career with her new label, NSR," said Ramani.

Broadway chief executive officer Boon Tan and Dayang were reportedly happy to confirm in a win-win situation of the court cases which was aided by RIM, while NSR A&R director Iman Wan formally welcomed Dayang to NSR's stable.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Aku malas nak posting baru. These past few days since my birthday have been the crappiest ever.

It hasn't been the worst - tapi cam yo yo. Kejap ok...kejap cam sial!

Apapun - I really have no mood to post anything. Right now - I'm just broiling in hatred. For myself and the people around me. I have no idea why things suck so bad at the moment. I am feeling dowopeless and on the verge of giving up everything.

I suppose the only silver lining is I'll be making my third trip to Bangkok this Tuesday. At least aku leh berambus sat dari KL ni. Menyampah aku dok sini. Everything is just so screwed up at the moment.

*UPDATE* Aku da jumpa balik SIM card aku so you can contct me back at my 013 number.Until then - let me wallow in my depression with this bit. Damn all the ignorant idiots in this world who make life a living hell! Memang dengki takleh lihat orang lain gembira!

There's blackness outside blackness caged inside with me my view from here does not surpass my fingers the day ascends, plateaus, and falls It hoists and drags, and I allow sometimes light appears before tomorrow but it's only dreamt and when breakfast faces get a glimpse they turn away they think I just might be contagious...

I miss Jakarta... I am so sick and tired of KL....I miss you, babe...I'm going to sleep now with this song on permanent repeat.. The words may mean something else to some people....but in means so much to me...and is so relevant. Pass a a Marsha tissue please...

Orang nak tak abih-abih kata aku ada favourites aku...question yourself people...how did they become my favourites. Mawi and Felix I agree have charisma - it's just they lack consistency though I still believe they deserve top five on the average of their performing ability.

Marsha and Amylea are the most consistent two and that is undeniable.

Akma is an above average singer - but she still lack identity ataupun showmanship.

Below is my suggested list - and skali ngan tugasan mereka dapat tuk minggu ni and my evaluation. Enjoy...and stop bitching about all this and take it with a funny bone in you and have that ability to laugh. Sheesh!

Felix has aleady proven rock genre ni - biar ballad atau kapak pun dia leh handle. The only problem he has is with English songs, so this should NOT be a problem. Only hope dia all out kali ni.

Kalau diikutkan, Felix punya only problem is that he makes things look too easy at times, which is not a good thing. Aku nak tengok dia effort with a song. And hopefully he puts his all into hia performance...he really needs to stricke it up a notch!

Lagu ni aku dapat rasakan adalah pilihan untuk menyelamatkan Akma minggu ni because it's a fun and lively number, and charisma and x-factor or not - anyone can be seen as a master showman (or woman) with the dangdut-esque tune.

I think Akma will rock the house with this - but then again - she's disappointed before. However am hoping for her to turn on the magic because seh really does have everything else.

Especially since live, the song requires the use of falsetto ler, something yang non-existent in Yazer's vocals. So to adapt to the tune, kalau dia nak wat rock grunts and growls dia, then he's bound to strain his vocal chords. It will be the best and first challenge so far for Yazer to prove whether he can pull it off decently. Kalau Yazer is convincing in this - then I truly say he deserves Top 5.

This is his best opportunity to redeem himself. Potential problem I see is kalau dia repeat his usual mistake of slurring. Sebutan dan lenggok dia kekadang skema sikit, so kalau dia pandai adapt the song, his style to it...it should be one of the main highlights.

This week - Marsha mendapat lagu Kris Dayanti iaitu Cobalah Untuk Setia. As with most Indonesian power ballads, the song is relatively easy except going into the bridge on, powering into a climactic finish.

It will be a question mark whether Marsha can survive the song - but with this weepie tune, she will either bomb or perform the highlight of the show to put up another fight with the fab four along with Mawi, Felix and Amylea. While I'm happy she got a chance to showcase her vocals - I can't help but thinking the faculty should have given something a lot more challenging.

Kefli's song this week is Hati Emas oleh Kembara. I really have no comments about how he's going to perform. You can be as positive all you want - but all I'm going to say is, his pitching, tempo, phrasing, and accuracy to melody is going to be important.

Of course in any song it's always a basic to have those requirements...but somehow he's been missing the mark week after week.

Could be his swan song finally. At least I'm hoping cause the other two who would probably go out otherwise is Akma or Yazer and I think they're miles better.

So if you guys like the products - apa lagi...we'll see if it makes the shelves of your nearest store soon. Oh by the way - aku malas nak review how the students will do in the group performance sebab aku rasakan by then smuer da make up their mind nak AFUNDI sapa.

Kena lak marah sebab tak gi Mentor. Ramai lak orang kat Hartamas Square semalam. Dayang ngan adik beradik dia pun there. She wasn't wearing make up and I hardly recognised her (in all the years kenal dia, I think this is the real first time aku tak nampak dia bermake-up), but I did recognise her sister.

Look...for the last time...this is MY blog...MY personal space...and MY opinions. And whoever doesn't like it - takyah masuk sini. Takder orang paksa. Dah masuk rumah orang, perlu ke nak wat kecoh. At the end of the day - nothing you say will change anything cause he STILL can't sing.

Memang aku support my favourites. But my favourites are the ones who meet the requirements in every department and have a complete package. And right now - empat orang je tuk aku yang bebetul layak untuk bertanding dalam fina, dengan cukup adanta package. They are Amylea, Marsha, Felix dan Mawi.

Akma has get her act right in time and develop something beyond her karaoke-ness and Yazer needs to be more convincing with something different apart from hsi rock poser act to earn their spot.

I agree with the critic that there is a sense of honesty pasal Yazer ni - that he is being himself - tapi at the end of the day - is he really honest ke...ataupun is there all there is to him that it's so transparent?

Anyway - going a little off the konsert....tension earlier in the day sebab blogdrive punya server gila sikit as most of you may know. Thank you Marla sebab SMS aku bagitau - masa tu aku tidur. But I did know of the server problem and blog aku cam sangkut.

Anyways - that's all for the review - kang aku upload more pics in the fotopages of who was there at the konsert. Ramai gak anggota keluar Akademi Fantasia dari musim pertama dan kedua menghadirkan diri memberikan sokongan.

All in all, things went so well - that if the students had put up a better performance, this concert would have been the best, most fun and yet well-conducted showcase. Tahniah Mawi FC for controlling bukan saja anggota-anggota kelab, tapi juga nyamuk-nyamuk fanatik.

Anyway - I know I did an earlier posting about Zahid's upcoming Planet Hollywood Sunday Nite Live gig. On Thursday sempat gi press conference for the event which is billed as the Zahid and Friends Sunday Nite Live.

Most of my personal problems are kind of settled - some still hanging in limbo awaiting its fate - while others have had quite interesting solutions.

Apapun - I feel kind of bad for wallowing in self-pity as someone left a message for the me in the Comments section said.

Apapun - I think it was necessary - and while I think it didn't solve much - it was an eye opener for me and a lot of people around me.

Now only God...and time will determine what happens. Thank you to everyone, those whom I know personally, and to those who only know me from my blog - for all the calls, and SMSes of emotional support I've received.

Dalam tiga musim Akademi Fantasia Indosiar, pelbagai kejutan jugak ada dijalankan. But I recall that the first season of Akademi Fantasi Indosiar did somethig along those lines, though I can't recall how many made it to the final.

So mungkin ke Akademi Fantasia menyaksikan final yang bukan made up of top five pelajar. Dah sah tahun ni AFMASUK tak akan dijalankan kerana penyerapan masuk kembali sudahpun dilakukan - and I think would simply be too controversial if they did it again, though there is a minor possibility it could happen.

Kalau ada repeat performance kejutan pun aku rasa the possibility lies more in the prospect of another double elimination.

But in the weeks to come, kita akan tau. Setakat ni - aku rasa it's not impossible the final figure will be top four. And of course top four tu will be Mawi and Felix - dan kebarangkalian Amylea dan Marsha yang akan melengkapkan senarai final kali ni based on current polling trends.

Kalau betul tu terjadi - it would be nice to see what Malaysians vote like as it will be a fight of popularity versus outstanding talent.

To my strength - thank you. For you are also my weakness...PERFECT ATTITUDE!

You know who you are....

My Sadness Is My JoyWhen I feel sad, my joy is rekindled, because my sadness and my joy are one and they are many. My sadness is the clear cold light of the rising moon fed on the glowing embers of the dying sun. It contains the joy in my soul the way my veins hold my lifeblood in my body. It is the bland rice to the spicy curry that sustains my existence. It is that moment of silence between two notes in the symphony of my universe. It is the implosion that checks the explosion of my heart. My sadness is a stranger to that ugly modern impostor called depression. Depression is the faded foliage of a sickly plant, the sputtering of a choking engine, the cloak of anger turned on itself.I welcome my sadness because it hones my mind, sharpens my vision, pulls and tugs at my heart-strings and reminds me that I am still alive. My sadness and my joy are one and they are many.They are the yin and the yang, the flip and the flop, the flip-flop of the eternal dance of my Lord Shiva.